“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal. Nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” W.W. Ziege

Selling is a people business. People buy from people, and most often, from people that they like. But what makes one sales rep more likable than the next? Surely all, or at least most sellers try to be likable!

Attitude makes the difference.

A positive attitude is not only easily recognizable, but it’s catchy. Sellers who possess truly positive attitudes honestly expect the best from customers and prospects, and they offer their personal best as well. They tend to react to things in an upbeat way and, more importantly, tend to bring about positive return reactions.

Every sales person and every sales manager should recognize the importance of developing and maintaining such an attitude within themselves and within their organizations.

A final testimonial to this discipline is a poem, author unknown, entitled The Winner. The final verse:

Life’s battles don’t always go
to the stronger or faster man;
but sooner or later the man who wins
is the fellow who thinks he can.

In an earlier post we referenced Frank Edwin “Tug” McGraw Jr., who was a Major League Baseball relief pitcher and the father of country music singer Tim McGraw. As noted in that post, he is likely best remembered for two things… recording the final out, via a strikeout, in the 1980 World Series, bringing the Philadelphia Phillies their first world championship… and his pithy quote…,

“You Gotta Believe!”

Have you ever wondered about the impact of belief, or the value of believing not only in what we do, but also in our own ability to do it?

Much has been written about these concepts, including well-known examples such as “The Power of Positive Thinking,” by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, and Rhonda Byrne’s “The Secret.”

Here are a few more, possibly less-famous, perspectives on how our belief or conviction might enable us to achieve greater levels of success or fulfillment:

In his book, “The Power of Self-Confidence,” Brian Tracy concludes that “the foundation quality of success in every walk of life is self-confidence.”

Tracy also shares examples and case studies, and suggests, “If you had unlimited self-confidence, you would be more powerful, popular and persuasive… you would be admired, respected and sought after… recognition and responsibilities would flow to you because of people’s belief in your ability to do what it took to get the job done.”

In his article “The Greatest Principle of Human Persuasion,” author and sales expert G. Harold McLeod identifies a person’s conviction as the most persuasive component of communication. “People are persuaded more by the depth of your conviction than by the height of your logic,” he says. “…more by your own enthusiasm than any proof you can offer. Put another way, people are converted not to your way of thinking; they are persuaded more by your way of feeling, your way of believing.”

In his book “The Art of the Solo Performer,” author and musician Steve Rapson explains that at one time or another even the most seasoned artists — whether they be musicians, actors, singers or speakers — are affected by nervousness or stage-fright, and that the most effective way of overcoming the affliction involves a combination of “preparation and conviction.”

“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal. Nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” W.W. Ziege

Selling is a people business. People buy from people, and most often, from people that they like. But what makes one sales rep more likeable than the next? Surely all, or at least most sellers try to be likeable!

Attitude makes the difference.

A positive attitude is not only easily recognizable, but it’s catchy. Sellers who possess truly positive attitudes “assume the close.” They honestly expect the best from prospects, and they offer their personal best as well. They tend to react to things positively and, more importantly, tend to bring about positive return reactions.

Christine Harvey asks a pertinent question in her “Successful Selling” book. “What are the chances that your customer will be positive if you aren’t? The answer is zero.”

But it’s not easy to be truly positive! Especially when so much of selling tends to be negative.

Selling is a people business. People buy from people, and most often, from people that they like. But what makes one sales rep more likeable than the next? Surely all, or at least most sellers try to be likeable!

Attitude makes the difference.

A positive attitude is not only easily recognizable, but it’s catchy. Sellers who possess truly positive attitudes “assume the close.” They honestly expect the best from prospects, and they offer their personal best as well. They tend to react to things positively and, more importantly, tend to bring about positive return reactions.

Christine Harvey asks a pertinent question in her “Successful Selling” book. “What are the chances that your customer will be positive if you aren’t? The answer is zero.”

But it’s not easy to be truly positive! Especially when so much of selling tends to be negative. Yet a positive attitude is a pre-requisite to long-termed sales success. We must first believe in our products and services, as well as in our companies and ourselves before we can expect customers and prospects to do so. Every sales person and every sales manager should recognize the importance of developing and maintaining such an attitude within themselves and within their organizations.

A testimonial to this discipline is a poem, author unknown, entitled The Winner. The final verse:

Life’s battles don’t always go
to the stronger or faster man;
but sooner or later the man who wins
is the fellow who thinks he can.

In an earlier post we referenced a quote from baseball’s Tug McGraw, “You gotta believe.”

It was noted that sales professionals as well as sales managers must believe in the products and services they sell, and also that organizational leadership will support what they’re selling. We also noted that sales managers and other leaders must believe in their team’s ability to do the job.

As many people have agreed, these beliefs are contagious… but so too is the lack of belief!

Therefore, whether we are sales managers, team supervisors, group leaders, department heads or business owners, we should carefully question our disbeliefs, because if we doubt our team’s ability to do the job; if we have second-thoughts about their dedication or loyalty to the cause; if we second-guess each move they make; if we have no faith in them, then it will show.

Even worse, it will show in their performance because they will sense the doubt and become paralyzed by the fear of ridicule or worse; and it will filter-through to their families and friends, to our clients and prospects, and, ultimately, to the marketplace.

Our belief, or lack thereof, cannot be masked, so as leaders we might do well to consider our true beliefs and make a conscious effort to either develop an honest belief in our work force or develop a work force in-which we believe; and then we must find ways to express that belief each and every day.

The positive results might truly be surprising!

As the late Zig Ziglar once said, “A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could.”

Frank Edwin “Tug” McGraw Jr. was a Major League Baseball relief pitcher and the father of Country music singer Tim McGraw. He is likely best remembered for two things… recording the final out, via a strikeout, in the 1980 World Series, bringing the Philadelphia Phillies their first world championship… and his pithy quote referenced in the title above.

Belief is a big factor in both sales and sales management. We all must believe in ourselves, in our organization, and that the job can be done.

Sales professionals must believe in the products and services they sell, and also that organizational leadership will support what they’re selling.

Sales managers must believe in the same things, and also in their team’s ability to do the job.

You might also be familiar with these somewhat more comprehensive words of wisdom from Norman Vincent Peale, who said, “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy

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We all know that growing a business or sales territory is hard work. A good start is to create an annualized business development plan, but simply crafting the plan isn’t enough! We must commit to the proactive components of the plan — or as many people call them, the “hard part” of business development.